Consumable Items : Get RPG Players to Use Them!

I bet that most people who have played a video game RPG have had this experience: by the time the credits roll, your inventories stuffed with consumable items.

I think we see the same thing in #ttRPGs too. Players hoard their consumable items instead of using them. At the end of a campaign, how many potions and spell scrolls are sitting in the bad of holding?

In a video game, this just fills up screen space. But in #DnD this is kinda’ a bummer for the DM. You put the effort to place those items in the game, but often they just sit unused.

In this (short!) video, I talk about why I think this the case and what the exception is. I also give four ways to encourage players to use consumables by making them ephemeral, situational, recoverable or scalable.

How about you? How many potions and scrolls do your players keep in their bag of holding? Will you add any of this to your dungeons and dragons game?

--- 🌟 Galder's Gazetteer 🌟 ---

--- ❤️ PATREON ❤️ ---
WTF Just a buck! Join the $1 Patreon to get access to EVERYTHING I do with ttRPGs including design streams, lively, home game notes and more!

—🪕 Discord 🪕—

[thoraf]

Awesome advice!

I think the reason that GMs might resist some of these suggestions is to avoid "overdesigning". For example in the case of telegraphing that a specific consumable will help with a specific situation. To some, this technique will read as "the GM is providing us with the solution" and breaking the illusion or verisimilitude of a world that is apathetic or hostile to the party.

One way to navigate this pitfall is in how the resource is presented to the party: If the party is exploring an underwater cavern, for example, they may stumble across the corpse of a former adventurer. In their pouch, they carry potions of water breathing; a useful resource in the underwater environment. This makes the appearance of the resource plausible to the players (someone else before us came down here prepared to explore underwater), while also creating unease and uncertainty: "If this adventurer didn't die by drowning, what killed them? Why wasn't the body looted? Is whatever killed this person still nearby? Waiting in ambush?"

[nathanex]

In my homebrew system I created a special creature that loves mixtures, tonics, oils and other stuff. It was hilarious when one of my players was attacked by it and this creature drunk two potions from his backpack and nearly killed him.

[Roont]

Fun ideas!
I like to give supernatural gifts that have a cost to carry. Draw aggro from spooky sources, take certain checks with disadvantage, or a non-mechanical thing like growing old supernaturally fast. Think the One Ring.

[joesgotmore]

You can also make consumables fragile. Like make a roll behind the DM screen every time they are hit with a blunt weapon to see if a random potion is broken, or fireball burns that scroll to a point that it loses it's magic. When the threat of losing the consumable can happen at any encounter they will be taking a chance each time they don't use it.


I did like all of the suggestions you gave too with the acceptation of Recoverable. All that does is extends the time to reuse the same item. Great video though just my opinion.

[denniscastello]

Wow! Brilliant! I have the same problem with my players hoarding their scrolls and potions. I'm definitely using these methods -- thanks!

[hibiki]

It's hard to justify using a Potion of Speed (Haste for 10 mins) when the combat will end in 2 rounds and you basically lose a turn consuming it.

[WhisperVTube]

I think there's another reason why players often don't use their consumables; they forget about them. I can't count the number of times I've watched my players struggle to take down a flesh golem all while forgetting that around their belt was a potion of fire breathing, or situations like that. Now forgetting about the stuff you can use is something that extends to all magic items and even stuff like class abilities and spell slots, but I think it crops up a lot in potions consumables because they're less valuable then normal magic items, and thus get put further down on the player's mental list. This is also mostly just a problem with newer players, as more experienced players are probably better with tracking their resources, but it crops up time and again with everyone.

[utoesc]

Short video, but great advice for any game designer on how to get out the trappings of an all too common problem.

[TalkativeHands]

I like your ideas and I'll be sure to use them.

I have two main rules for consumables.
One. I make it easier for PCs to make them. The whole 4 days to make a potion that 2d4+2 hp is ridiculous.
Two. Starting off all PCs have three slots they can fill with consumables. It takes a bonus action to use them. Once they use their three slots it then becomes an action to use any other consumables; this prevents them from using spell scrolls every turn. As they level up they can unlock more slots up to the DM.

[JordanNiks]

Hey man! Found your vids through your high level one-shot piece! I love this type of mechanical changes to add substance and interaction into the game! Keep up the awesome work!

[pugsquad]

this si some great advice. I am running a campaign and I intend to put a lot of consumable items. I see following these tactics will help.

[MannyBrum]

Once you use it you don't have it but if you're stockpiling potions I'm probably not going to keep giving them.

[demetrinight]

For some reason my players still hoard potions of healing. I even give maximum healing if used as an action or roll for it if used as a bonus action.

They still rely on spell slots or wait for a long rest to heal. On the rare occasions where they use a potion of healing they will go out of the way to replace it. Especially if they use a greater or superior potion.

By the end of the last campaign I looked at everyone's character inventory to see at least a dozen potions of healing with greater and superior potions as well.

This doesn't even count the other consumables like other potions, scrolls, or 1 time use items.

[thechaotimagnet]

If you have not done so yet, check the cypher system RPG. In my opinion, this RPG solves the issue flawlessly.

[purevessle]

You example with the water torch really seems like a plot convenience.

[matthewquan]

As a player, I use consumable items as currency more than actually using them. Wizards pay good money for spell scrolls, potions also tend to fetch a good price. It’s the combat specific potions that are the hard to liquidate ones.

[Maninawig]

One thing that I was considering with consumables is how much more rewarding they can be for those with the proficiency to make them, if they were treated more like the Ritual Caster feat and spell scrolls...

For instance, instead of your herbalist knowing how to make all the potions but never having the time to craft them, limit their selection to 3 bottom tier potions, then increase the potency of their concoctions as the story progresses. (I.E. the Monk's Healing Potion becomes so refined over time that it replaces the Greater Healing Potion, allowing them to make 5 GHP in the time an NPC might make one.)

Such a herbalist in your party could also learn to make new potions by studying them as a wizard studies a spell scroll.

[nonya]

We always used some form of setting how much Ugh can carry. Drag, papper work a drag.
You post some fine ideas.
But in the long term, stashing consumables makes perfect sense.
Going to need them someday for the henchmen, almost always easier to carry than gold value they represent.
many plot hooks horders give us.
However word gets out, it usually does. Makes characters a target.
Also they will need to have a place to keep it safe. Had a character once with 100s of potions, real pain. But did not dump them down the drain.
Used them to gain favor. With npcs mostly, rarely prickish enough to charge other pcs. Well mostly. We all chargef Ugh a premium.

[Marty-imqb]

I see myself horting items with these tips too. Even if you are against the perfect enemy to use it, maybe there will be a boss to use it at some other point.

[EclipsisTenebris]

Best way to make player's use consumables? Have them run a Kobold one-shot from Volo's... why? -2 strenght... a 6 in Str + Encumberance rule will teach them REAL quick to not stuff their inventory with unneccessary items/ammo.... and they will get a new appreciation for slings.